A biased look at psychology in the world

March 14, 2013

Families and Veterans with PTSD

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system's leadership has endorsed family involvement in veterans' mental health care as an important component of treatment. Both veterans and families describe family participation as highly desirable, and research has documented that having healthy social support is a strong protective factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Family psychoeducation has been shown to be effective in preventing relapse among severely mentally ill, and preliminary evidence suggests that family interventions for PTSD may improve veteran and family outcomes. The multifamily group (MFG) treatment model incorporates psychoeducation, communication training, and problem-solving skill building, and it increases social support through its group format. An article published in Psychological Services describes the rationale for further adaptation of the MFG model for PTSD, and it reviews issues related to its implementation as a promising adjunctive treatment as part of the continuum of PTSD services available in VA.